RESEARCH ON SYNESTHESIA.

RESEARCH ON SYNESTHESIA. This wikipedia article defines synesthesia as “a condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway.” A favorite college professor of mine had a special interest in the use of synesthesia in Shelley’s poetry. Example: in “To a Skylark”, the moon “whose intense lamp narrows/ In the white dawn clear,/ Until we hardly see, we feel that it is there.” (vision and touch). Another example: in GATSBY the orchestra is playing “yellow cocktail music.” (vision and sound). Despite being aware of the existence of the phenomenon from my college days, I don’t think I’ve ever experienced synesthesia. This Economist article describes an experiment by Anne-Sylvie Crisinel and Charles Spence on the relation between sound and smell. The 30 people in the experiment tended to agree that: “Sweet and sour smells were rated as higher-pitched, smoky and woody ones as lower-pitched. Blackberry and raspberry were very piano. Vanilla had elements of both piano and woodwind.” Further, toffee tasted different depending on whether there was low-pitched or high-pitched music playing in the background.